Obama admin leaving HFC deal to Trump White House

Big news in the EPA

Officials say President Obama will pass climate diplomacy to the Trump Administration – supporters fear that Trump would deem it a “bad deal”.

If the deal enters into force, companies will have to abide by the agreement reached by delegations from the 197-member Montreal Protocol whether or not the United States ratifies it. AHRI has reached out to Trump’s transition team, encouraging the president-elect to submit the deal to the Senate for ratification. The industry group has also been talking to Republicans on Capitol Hill.

In related news, President-Elect Donald Trump nominated Scott Pruitt, the attorney general of the oil and gas intensive state of Oklahoma to head up the Environmental Protection Agency.

Read more here => http://bit.ly/scott-pruitt-epa
and here => http://bit.ly/scott-pruitt-epa2

ECCC Proposes HFC Regulations

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Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) November 26th 2016, published its proposed HFC regulations in the Canadian Gazette.

Click here to review published document

This action is the latest step building on the Department’s December 2014 publication of its notice of intent to advance these regulations and follows its publication in March 2016 of the prior iteration of these proposed regulations.

Based on an initial review, differences between the latest iteration of proposed regulations and the March 2016 iteration include:

Specification of control measures for condensing units: Their control was implied in the controls on refrigeration systems in the previous version, now there is a separate reference to their control.
Removal of separate reference to blends containing HFCs in control measures: GWP limits for blends were noted in the previous version, now there is only a reference to HFCs
Restriction of applicability of aerosol control measures: Referred to as “pressurized containers” in the current proposal, only those containing 2 kg or less are now subject to controls rather than 10 kg or less in the previous version. Exemption for certain technical and medical uses remain in the current proposal.

Please CLICK HERE to review the document that includes important updates on activities related to controls on hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and outcomes of the Twenty-eighth Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol that took place in Kigali, Rwanda from October 10-14, 2016 for your consideration when submitting comments on the proposed Regulations.

A Growing Consensus: HFC Phase-down Amendment

In a statement from the Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy: “The Alliance is pleased to join the many voices that have called today for a responsible, ambitious approach to reducing the climate impact of HFCs.” (DynaTemp, Intl. is also a signatory on this statement.)

September 22, 2016 at the UN General Assembly, there was a clear demonstration of the broad consensus for an HFC phase-down amendment to the Montreal Protocol.

According to the White House Press Secretary, “the United States hosted a gathering of countries in New York to provide a boost of momentum to the upcoming international negotiations to adopt an amendment to the Montreal Protocol to phase down the potent greenhouse gases known as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).”

You can read further details from the White House news release here. => Leaders from 100+ Countries Call for Ambitious Amendment to the Montreal Protocol to Phase Down HFCs and Donors Announce Intent to Provide $80 Million of Support

The United States and India: Enduring Global Partners in the 21st Century

June 7th in Washington, DC President Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, in their third bilateral summit, released a joint statement entitled “The United States and India: Enduring Global Partners in the 21st Century.”

“They pledged to pursue new opportunities to bolster economic growth and sustainable development, promote peace and security at home and around the world, strengthen inclusive, democratic governance and respect for universal human rights, and provide global leadership on issues of shared interest.”

In addition, the statement includes the following language on HFC management:

“…the two countries resolved to work to adopt an HFC amendment in 2016 with increased financial support from donor countries to the Multilateral Fund to help developing countries with implementation, and an ambitious phase down schedule, under the Montreal Protocol pursuant to the Dubai Pathway.”

Click here to read full text.